The 19-year-old charged in setting fire to Mississippi’s oldest synagogue pleaded not guilty to a federal charge on Tuesday.
Stephen Spencer Pittman appeared before Magistrate Judge LaKeysha Greer Isaac in Hinds County in connection with a Jan. 10 blaze at Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson. The early-morning fire charred the synagogue’s office and library and destroyed two Torahs – the central and most sacred text in Judaism – and damaged more.
Pittman is facing an arson charge on the federal level. His not guilty plea means a trial will be held beginning Feb. 23. While Pittman’s attorney filed a motion for bond on the basis of no prior criminal history and no possession of a passport, Judge Isaac ordered he remain in custody until the trial. He is currently being held by the U.S. Marshals Service at the Madison County Detention Center. A mugshot of Pittman has not been made available.
Pittman, who attended St. Joseph Catholic School in Madison before going on to play baseball at Coahoma Community College, admitted to breaking into Beth Israel, dousing areas of the synagogue with gasoline, and setting fire to the place of worship, the FBI has asserted. The crime was captured on video.
In an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Mississippi the on Jan. 12, FBI Special Agent Nicholas Amiano said Pittman confessed to lighting the fire “due to the building’s Jewish ties” and referred to Beth Israel as the “synagogue of Satan” when speaking to law enforcement officers.
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Pittman’s father, who investigators supplied a picture showing his son had texted him from the crime scene, is who turned him in. He told agents that his son confessed to setting the building on fire.
Pittman was injured during the blaze and appeared in court on Tuesday with bandages wrapped around his hands, according to WAPT-TV. He is also facing a charge of first-degree arson with a hate crime enhancement on the state level.
If convicted, Pittman could face up to 20 years in federal prison and as much as 60 years in state prison, although it is not yet known if terms would run consecutively or concurrently.
While no congregants of Beth Israel were physically injured during the blaze, the emotional toll has been a combination of discouraging and encouraging, according to synagogue officials. Congregation President Zach Shemper has vowed to rebuild the synagogue as several area churches have opened their doors to Beth Israel in the meantime.
Churches who have made their campuses available or offered resources to the people of Beth Israel include Northminster Baptist Church, St. Phillip’s Episcopal Church, and Fondren Church, among others.
“We are a resilient people,” Shemper said the day of the blaze. “With support from our community, we will rebuild.”